I've had the privilege of having time to sit down and talk with plenty of folks struggling in the southeast US. None of them, that is zero, show any discernable 'envy.' What you are talking about is either a straw man or a deeply hidden psychological issue I just couldn't detect a hint of. Or perhaps you are mistaking the new paycheck-to-paycheck middle class for the actual poor. In my experience these are either fiercy proud or cynically hopeless people with so many immediate issues they lack even awareness about what us rich people are doing.

The real problems they face are debilitating sickness, taking care of a family member with debilitating sickness, struggling to continue sleeping where they are presently, struggling with maintaining a human identity in a society that treats them subhumanly, trying to get hired as a felon, trying to secure the trust of any financial institution, trying to break drug habits and cope with psychosis and other mental illnesses without access to a pharmacy or non-ER doctor.